County of Neuenahr
The County of Neuenahr was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire based around Castle Neuenahr near Ahrweiler in the far north of modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The county was a member of the Electoral Rhenish Circle and was a member of the Bench of Counts of the Wetterau in the Imperial Diet. Castle Neuenahr was built in 1221 by a new branch of the family of Are, Hochstaden and Nürburg. In 1261 with the extinction of the Altenahr (Hochstaden) line, the Archbishopric of Cologne annexed the territory instead of it passing to the other lines of Counts. In 1270 with the extinction of the Nürburg line, the Archbishopric annexed that territory too despite the ensuing violence. Neuenahr, however, flourished during this time for several generations until the death of Count William III in 1363. Without any surviving male heirs, the Neuenahr succession would have passed to William's daughter Catherine and her husband Count John of Saffenberg. The female succession, very rare during this period, infuriated minor branches of the Neuenahr family which led to John IV of Neuenahr-Rösberg contesting it. After twenty years of warfare, John of Rösberg managed to gain control of the entirety of the county while Catherine was reduced to continuing the war from Saffenberg. John immediately began taxing the inhabitants of the county for what they had been taxed by Catherine, and robbing the merchants of the Archbishopric of Cologne. Several citizens of Ahrweiler in retribution captured John of Rösberg and imprisoned him in the dungeon of Neuenahr, and only released him after he paied a high ransom in 1372. John quickly returned to his old habits, so the citizens, Catherine and the Archbishopric allied together, captured and destroyed the castle, and banned him and his descendents from ever entering the county again. The Archbishopric attempted in the aftermath to annex this remaining part of the County of Are, but was prevented from doing so through the objections of the Elector of the Palatinate and Jülich. The archbishoprics however obtained a third of the rulership of the territory. In 1424 the Neuenahr-Saffenberg branch became extinct and the County passed to the Counts of Virneburg again through female succession. In 1444 Virneburg partitioned into a Virneburg and a Neuenahr line, and Neuenahr line took the name "von Neuenahr". The new state became extinct in 1545, and this time there were no heirs to the county so the Duke of Jülich and the Elector Palatine began an argument over the succession. The Duke of Jülich won over the inhabitants of the county in a large popular assembly, and the following year the inhabitants pledged complete loyalty to the Duke and in exchange the Duke pledged to forever protect the rights of the inhabitants. The county was properly annexed despite the objections of the Archbishopric of Cologne and the Counts of Wied. The extant branches of Neuenahr, partitioned from the line of Neuenahr-Rösberg, maintained their rights through the territory and survived until their extinction in 1600. in 1609 the Dukes of Jülich-Berg-Cleves became extinct, and the succession of that large and wealthy duchy became disputed between the Electorate of Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg. Palatinate-Neuburg quickly obtained and ruled the County, and by the Contract of Xanten in 1614 was confirmed the county. Neuenahr was still considered a separate county and the dukes of Neuburg styled themselves "Counts of Neuenahr" amongst their other titles. In 1685 the Neuburgs inherited the Electorate of the Palatinate, and in 1772 the Dukes of Palatinate-Sulzbach succeeded them. They then inherited the Duchy of Bavaria in 1777. In 1794 the County was invaded and occupied by the French during the wars of the French Revolution, and it was formally ceded in 1801. The Congress of Vienna in 1814 awarded the county to Prussia. Category:Estates of the Holy Roman Empire